This invention relates generally to systems for dispensing liquid and, more particularly, to a dispensing system for dispensing liquid from a container such as a bottle.
Liquid chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides are frequently used in and around homes, lawns and gardens to kill undesirable insects and plants. Typically, the chemicals are provided in a bottle and dispensed therefrom by means of spraying apparatus. Such apparatus often includes a pump-type sprayer, and flexible tubing having a first end within the bottle and a second end connected to the sprayer. The tubing passes through a cap covering an opening at the neck of the bottle. Squeezing an actuator (trigger) of the sprayer draws the liquid chemical from the bottle, through the tubing and out the sprayer. The bottle is typically furnished to the user with the sprayer and tubing contained in a plastic bag hung on the neck of the bottle.
A disadvantage of this arrangement is that the bottle and bag occupy more box space and shelf space than does the bottle itself. Thus, more shipping boxes and more shelf space is required for a given number of bottles and bags than for the same number of bottles. Another disadvantage of the prior bottle/sprayer apparatus arrangement is that after the bag is discarded and the flexible tubing is connected to the bottle, there is no provision to store the bottle with the sprayer fastened to the bottle. During storage between uses, the sprayer and tubing are generally either draped over the bottle or placed on a nearby surface. This often results in undesirable drainage or leakage of liquid from the sprayer and/or tubing and/or bottle onto the surface. Even if the user disconnects and removes the sprayer and tubing from the bottle between uses, undispensed liquid chemicals may seep from the sprayer and tubing. A further disadvantage of the prior bottle/sprayer apparatus arrangement is the difficulty in maintaining the inlet end of the flexible tubing adjacent the bottom of the bottle. The end of the tubing tends to curl upward away from the bottom of the bottle because the tubing tends to assume the curled shape it had in the bag prior to use. Thus, the entire contents of the bottle cannot be dispensed through the sprayer.